Doodles...

I was pretty bored tonight.

Zoo stuff.

I just finished an animal illustration marathon for the zoo. I've been running non stop for the past 2 weeks (except for a little break over the weekend). There were sixty five illustrations to do, I think. I can't remember exactly, I'm kind of brain dead. Anyway, here's some snippets. The final art are full bodied animals which will be part of some signage at the Philadelphia Zoo's new Children Zoo opening this coming Spring.

Children's Zoo project

I'm currently finishing up a big project for the Philadelphia Zoo's new children zoo which should be open next spring. Among many animal illustrations (60 or so) I also have to make American Sign Language signs as shown above. Can anyone guess what is being signed?

All artwork is Copyright © The Philadelphia Zoo 2012

Philadelphia Zoo's Trail of the Lorax!

I just finished a big project for the Philadelphia Zoo's spring exhibit, the Trail of the Lorax. In short, the exhibit will teach the importance of conservation in protecting Orangutans. A quote form the press kit: 

"In the 'Trail of the Lorax,' a live interactive exhibit at Philadelphia Zoo, Dr. Seuss' cautionary tale of The Lorax becomes a frame through which kids can experience and understand the very real correlation between human enterprise and destruction of animal habitat. The exhibit will focus on a real world similarity to the fictional Bar-ba-loots and Swomee-Swans—the endangered orangutans of Borneo and Sumatra."

The images below are  two of the 14 illustrations I completed over the past month or so. Six of the illustrations (not pictured) will be in old school 3D which will require 3D glasses for viewing. I saw some of the finished 3D images and they look really cool. Be sure to visit! More info on the Trail of the Lorax can be found here. The exhibit runs from March 31 to October 31, 2012.

It's been wonderful to work with the zoo again. I feel like it was where I got my first big break into the professional illustration field. Thanks to everyone at the zoo who worked closely with me on this project. I will never forget how to draw orangutans so long as I live. Ha ha!

Doodles.

I draw these for no reason while I have some down time while teaching. I grab a thin piece of illustration board that is lying around (usually by the paper cutter) and just start drawing with a micron. I have no idea where it's going to go so its fun to see what my brain is secretly thinking. It's kind of relieving.

Living with Lizards.

I just finished this piece for Highlights for Children 2 weeks ago. It was a fun story to illustrate. It's not too often that I get to do some night/moon lighting, which is one of my favorite things to color.

There is a lot more to this illustration that I didn't post, the open light blue area toward the bottom is just the beginning of the space needed for the story text. There will also be skinks (the lizards) all around the text and hiding under some of the photos throughout the two pages. It will published in the December 2009 issue.

The sketch is below. You should immediately notice the change in the walls and the removal of the man's facial hair and some of the skinks, most notably the skink sleeping by his side which I was quite sad to see go.

I have never met a kid (or an adult) that didn't love Highlights for Children, you can click here to get a subscription.